Sorry to see that LG. Mate i was just looking at the original pictures you posted and where that neck has broken there is already a crack there. The crack isn't visible in the shots where you show the broken neck, this leads me to believe it was already broken before you bought it ._________________so many guitars....so little money...

Has anyone ever heard of that? Is that normal? I've gotten lots of small items from abroad sent to me here in the USA and have never heard of such a thing, what is the deal?

LG, until about 1 year ago, I NEVER paid any US Customs duty, for the importation of any guitar.
About last December, the US Customs folks have hit me for just about every single guitar I have purchased & imported from Japan.
The duty will usually run anywhere from 4.5% to 8.7%, of the declared value.
I never ask any seller to low ball the declared value; never do that.

The last guitar that I imported, the Customs people actually charged me duty for $350 OVER the declared value, even though the declared value is clearly listed on the shipping invoice.
This fudgeup by the Customs azzholes cost me over $30.
Nothing more than legalized piracy, by the US Government, in my book.........

I didn't realize you'd bought it from Kenji, i have bought a couple of guitars from him and have had no troubles at all, he is a very nice guy and i have also spoken to him by phone, i am sure he will do the right thing by you.

Just a followup, the seller is helping me get the ball rolling with the insurance claim and I should end up losing out only the shipping and customs charges and with a "repairable" guitar.

He said shipping like this isn't uncommon and he rarely has problems. I've NEVER gotten a guitar with this small amount of packing. But in the US we always assume that they package is going to be treated very roughly and they often are.

The auction pointed out that crack "in the paint only" that you can see in the pic. Maybe that guitar would have lived happily ever after if it had never been shipped, who knows.

With regard to Custom charges, I've had packages opened in the past when I've bought stuff from the US. I remember they once opened a video tape, and they didn't just charge me their assessment of duty, they also charged me for opening my parcel! I think in most countries Customs are pretty much above the law, able to impose whatever charges they want without any real right of appeal.

Thanks for sharing your misfortune with the rest of us - I won't forget those pics in a hurry. If I ever feel tempted to buy a guitar from abroad (again), I'll think of your guitar. I guess the rule has to be - only ship a guitar internationally in a proper hard case (especially an angled headstock guitar). I wonder if a Fender type guitar would have survived whatever happened to yours?

Looking at the original pics I would not show them to the insurance co. investigating the claim, just in case they try to say it was already broken.

Also they sometimes check the packaging to see if it was adequate, I know most UK shippers, Parcelforce, DHL etc won't insure a musical instrument unless it's in a hard case. I would check the terms of the insurance before you invite them over to check out your flimsy box

Don't worry too much though, that's an easy repair for a good luthier, soon have her back in one piece

Stratman - That's one BIG advantage of a Strat over a Les Paul, I'm sure a Strat would have survived the trip injury free!

Thanks for the support and commiseration guys. This really sux. I don't mind admitting to you guys that seeing that damaged guitar was practically like seeing an animal or person get injured. I know you guys can understand the feelings one can have for a musical instrument.

The seller is being fully professional and helpful and has great communication etc. He's had insurance claims payout in the past which is very reassuring.

I just had a nice long painful frustrating ordeal at the post office. If you are not from the USA you might not know the USPS has a pretty terrible reputation for customer service. They usually do a great job in my experience but wow if something goes wrong good luck getting help.

I may or may not have initiated a claim for the insurance, and they may or may not have done what they are supposed to do to get it rolling (references to non-existing forms etc etc etc). They insisted they always keep the damaged item! But I managed to argue them into letting me take it back. Like I'm really gonna let them throw the pickups and tuners and everything into some unheated warehouse that's gonna be auctioned off 10 years from now or whatever. I'd have to totally strip the guitar before I take it up to leave it there if they insist on it.

it is probably repairable. The crack is above the truss rod juncture I think, I haven't had the heart to take the truss rod cover off to see where the front of the crack ends up. The headstock veneer is holding it all together now and I figure the best thing I can do is not move it around much until I can get it to a luthier. Obviously it's not gonna be worth as much after a repair.

But the people at my local post office do not understand any of the relative factors that give a collectible vintage Japanese guitar its value, go figure.

I think next time I'm going to have to factor in the cost of getting it shipped in a case.

I very much appreciate you guys comments about the durability of a straight neck-headstock. I never thought about it before. Last few times I flew on business I took a mexican strat! But only because I didn't care too much if the guitar was damaged

Actually it's worth mentioning, becuase on one of the legs of the flight my luggage was SMASHED beyond anything I've ever seen. The guitar was in a nice Carvin ABS case and the case actually got cracked around the bottom! But the guitar was fine. My luggage's retractable handles and wheels and whatever were all just crushed. I had a Pod XT and pair of full size headphones inside the luggage and they were all OK! *)

Ok I've rambled enough, I'm just real happy to have this forum where I can have a little therapy.

I got to at least see and hold the guitar and get a sense of it. It was pretty impressive. It was in very good condition. It had smaller frets (with minimal wear) than any of my other guitars which I was interested in trying. My Greco LP has low-wide or oval or low profile or whatever you call 'em. This would have felt quite different and I was excited to try it.

I will try again. There was something so exciting about getting a guitar from so far away and from Japan and everything. I guess part of it was the sense of adventure